Portland's Bike-Share Moves One Step Closer to Reality

After some delays back in 2008, it's finally happening! BikePortland reports that the city of Portland has released Request for Proposals (RFP) to try to find an operator for its bike share program: "Bids on the project are due on May 25th and the City is expected to choose a vendor shortly thereafter. The system itself, the RFP says, is should be fully operational by April 2013 with a possible test of the system by this fall."

It seems like an ambitious bike-share project (which is how it should be):

Portland envisions implementing the most popular and highly utilized bike sharing system in the United States; one that catalyzes investment in public spaces and provides a low cost transportation solution for thousands of system users. Bike sharing stations should serve as a basis for place-making in the city, and applications that directly couple bike share stations with other uniquely "Portland" public benefits such as distribution of bicycle maps, provision of local food or drinks, bicycle helmet sales, ATMs or other enterprises that enhance the public space around bike share stations are highly encouraged.